Archaeology used as a weapon in West Bank land grabs

Sebastia, West Bank

In a different part of the world, a town coming up for a vote on becoming a World Heritage site might be upbeat with anticipation and buzzing with tourists.

But Sebastia, in the northern part of the West Bank, is experiencing the exact opposite as it moves towards UNESCO’s fateful decision on the state of Palestine’s application to recognise it as being of “outstanding universal value”. The vote will be held at the organisation’s July 20-29 conference in Korea.

It could be the town’s last stand. Sebastia’s shops are shuttered; fading signs point to restaurants that no longer exist. Its residents are depressed and close to destitute, victims of the economic collapse after October 7, 2023. The only outsiders to come these days are IDF soldiers and settlers.

The death warrant for the Palestinian town’s hope of economic revival from tourism is massive Israeli land expropriation for development of a settler-run national park announced in February. Municipality officials say the park would separate Sebastia from the antiquities on its doorstep and destroy access to most of its olive trees.

The park is the sixth largest Israeli expropriation in the West Bank since 1967, further fragmenting the area earmarked by much of the international community as the heartland of a future Palestinian state.

“People are in shock. This property supported a third of the town. Our people always wait for the olive harvest,” a resident told The Jewish Independent. “Israelis can come and visit, no problem,” he added.” But this is our land. We have all the documents to prove it, documents from before Israel existed.”